In the early 1970s there were a series of public service announcements that ran on ABC during Saturday morning cartoons. They were called Time for Timer, Timer being the animated host who somewhat resembled a cheese puff with skinny little limbs. His mission was to encourage healthy eating and good hygiene and perhaps his most well known episode included the song “I Hanker for Hunk of Cheese!” Anyone?

Well the episode I remember most vividly is Sunshine on a Stick in which Timer shows us how to create orange juice pops in a an ice cube tray with cellophane and toothpicks - a recipe/method I followed repeatedly until my mother began selling Tupperware and we upgraded to these (updated version here).

There are, of course, much fancier popsicle mold options now - I’ve taken the liberty of sharing a few favorites.

The company Tovola makes a great range of molds including:

• Star Pops
• Rocket Pops
• Jewel Pops (edible bling!)

I like the Volcano Ice Pop molds by Prepara - they have a little lip on the base to help with spills and the mold creates an indented reservoir at the top of the popsicle, perfect for berries of maybe a little dollop of whipped cream. Cuispro’s Sailboat Pops are super cute and the boat is meant to help catch drips as well.

None of the mold options I’ve listed require a wooden stick, so no waste! But if you’d rather forego any type of stick base altogether check out the Lekue Silicone Ice Mold - once the liquid is frozen, remove the cap and squeeze from the bottom to eat!

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